What do you want to know about classical music, but we're afraid to ask?

[Eliahad]

Okay, so I drive. A lot. And I think about things and things I could be doing in the lesser times. Then I think I should be working on Godball or arrangements or something.

But I also think about answering folks questions about classical music. How can I make it more accessible? How can I explain and get people excited about it without resorting to telling them "it's the greatest thing ever!" because that implies that if you don't like it, you're wrong. There are a lot of conductors and classical musicians who who talk this way, and I find it condescending and demeaning.

I would rather show someone how it works, and then let them come to their own judgment on it. I mean, as Duke Ellington said, "if it sounds good, it is good," and different things sound good to different people. (For example, I dislike Beethoven symphonies, even that No. 5 that is supposed to be the best thing ever. It isn't. It's good, you might like it. I don't.)

So what do you want to know about music? Classical and/or otherwise. I want to answer your questions.

[Stan]

I get the feeling that most people don't get the variety that falls under classical music. Many think sedate chamber music when they hear the term. How about a brief rundown (a few words each) of some of the most common periods and/or schools of music or of favorite composers.

Or, how about a matching of famous music to what similar? Like "like the exorcist? that's Carmina Burana. Like "Kill the Wabbit? that's Wagner. 2001? that's Blue Danube Waltz and Thus spake Zarathustra." Then make another suggestion. (those might be right or wrong, I don't know music that well.)

[Tahlvin]

If you could recommend some top classical works to a noob, what would they be and why?

[Phoebe]

How often do I need to change my cello strings, either in terms of time they sit on the cello or practice and playing time? I have never understood this.

[Kyle]

[poorpete]

If I like Paganini, where should I go next? Any other classical composer would kick ass in a rock band?

[Stan]

I'm in the mood for dark and brooding. What do you suggest?

[Eliahad]

[Eliahad]

[Eliahad]

Classical Music for the Noob in all of us - Part 1 (An unedited rough draft)

I have a hot take for you -- at least in some circles. Beethoven is overrated. Not...all...Beethoven, but the things about Beethoven that could be considered common knowledge. Duh duh duh duhhhhh. That thing Linus plays in a Charlie Brown Christmas (Fur Elise...which means...For Elise). Ode to Joy from that 9th Symphony thing.

Where Beethoven really shines is what he did for the next generation of composers. Beethoven, really, was a guy stuck in the middle. Starting the Romantic movement of music that didn't really achieve it's peak until much later. So if you actually try and start listening to Classical music with Beethoven, you're listening to (basically) experimental music. Yes, it spoke to Beethoven...and it was well received by the audiences of the day for being ground breaking and amazing. But they all had the benefit of background and musical training and all the things before. They KNEW what a sonata allegro form was, and why it was so amazing that Beethoven was bending the rules.

Ok.....

Maybe I'll cover Sonata Allegro form another time, the short version is that it's kind of like Pop's "verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus" but for classical music. See, we /don't/ know about all those rules and how things were supposed to be in Classical music, so some of the novelty of Beethoven has disappeared for modern audiences, and the people that love it were introduced to it as something that they were absolutely supposed to like. Because it was Beethoven! And if you still love it, great! There is beauty and passion and drama all over the place in Beethoven. There is also wandering, searching, long-winded, repetition, that is harder to get into.

Where someone suggests Beethoven's 5th Symphony, of which the first movement is an excellent study in what you can do with three notes and the power and passion that careful craft can bring. The next three movements are long, drawn out and probably don't have any melodies an audience can hum. But that first movement! (I can hum the second and third movements, because they are pretty intense cello excerpts for auditions.) I would try this instead:

Brahms Third Symphony:

Brahms first symphony has been called Beethoven's 10th. His Third symphony though, is something different. It's a small little package, on the shorter side for this sort of thing, but says everything it needs to say and then, well, stops. It has drama, beauty, and some really awesome horn licks.



Sibelius 2nd Symphony

As far as Symphonies go, this one if far more introspective than most. A couple of things. 1st is that he is a Finnish composer, not a country that is often thought of for classical music. (Note to self: Include Grieg's Piano Concerto on future type-y type-y) 2nd: It has been offered up that Sibelius does Beethoven better than Beethoven. Or rather, he is the end point of the symphonic trajectory that Beethoven started. The benefit for the listener is that you don't need to have all the background to understand his music, because it's a polished culmination of the style.



Shostakovich 5th Symphony

Shostakovich always had to walk the fine line of musical anarchist and appeasing Stalin. In other words, critiquing the establishment vs. Not Dying. His music therefore matches the time in which it was written, with equal parts bombast and despair with a hint, just a hint of hope. This is getting far away from what Beethoven started and more into orchestral death metal? Well, let the symphony get going and you'll see what I mean.



Anyway, this is just a taste of one of the classical forms. Symphonies were designed to be epic, with long, slow development of the themes involved. Hope you enjoyed this sampler.

Let me know what you thought, and I'll try and get another set for you in the future!

[Tahlvin]

Excellent! This is what I need. Can't wait to have time to listen to these!

[Tahlvin]

Loved all three of those, as well as the Schubert piece.

This is a piece I like, not sure where it fits in the classical scheme of things, but it sounds good with a few different mixes of instruments:

[Stan]

[Ronster]

I wouldn't know where to begin.